Saturday, May 25, 2013

Program to Include Presentation of $35,000 to Winner of Game Design Competition, Keynotes by World’s Gaming Thought-Leaders, Guest Curators, Spotlight on Half the Sky Movement: The Game, and Presentation of the Annual Games for Change Awards

Tickets Currently On Sale at GamesforChange.org/Festival2013

April 30, 2013 (New York, NY) — The 10th Anniversary Games for Change Festival will take place from June 17-19th at New World Stages in New York City. Hosted and created by Games for Change, a non-profit that catalyzes social impact through digital games, the Games for Change Festival is the largest gaming event in New York City and the leading international event uniting game creators with others interested in accessing and furthering the positive social impact of games. Over the years, the festival has played host to speakers ranging from VP Al Gore to the Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor.

This year’s festival welcomes a range of new programing partners, including: Zynga.org, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center, and Tribeca Film Institute. These partners have collaborated with Games for Change to curate the festival’s three-day program. Commemorating a special 10th Anniversary spotlight are guest curators Babycastles, Hide&Seek, and the Global Game Jam and a series of keynote presentations by thought-leaders from the gaming world, including award-winning game designers Brenda Romero and Jesse Schell, and editor and journalist Leigh Alexander, amongst others. Other program highlights include: the presentation of finalists for the organization’s first large-scale game design competition; the Annual Games for Change Awards; and a special spotlight with Zynga.org highlighting the lessons learned and impact made through Games for Change’s executive-produced Facebook game Half the Sky Movement: The Game.

“The story of the Games for Change Festival is the story of how digital games have evolved, growing from an audience of 40 in 2004 to more than 10,000 attendees on-site and online,” said Michelle Byrd and Asi Burak, Co-Presidents of Games for Change. “For the 10th Anniversary we are partnering with leading names from the commercial gaming industry, academia, research and media to present a wholesome vision of how games can serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts.”

Programming Partners

• David & Lucile Packard Foundation and SexEtc.org: For the first time in its 10-year history, the festival’s program will feature a public design competition, the Sex Etc. Games for Change Design Competition, which will award a cash prize of up to $35,000, sponsored by the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, to one team with the most innovative proposal to create a safe sex awareness game for the teen website, Sexetc.org. The deadline to submit ideas is May 17th. Three finalists will present their ideas on stage during the festival in front of attendees, potential funders, and a juried panel. The creator(s) of the winning idea will collaborate with Answer on turning the idea into an innovative prototype of a web-based sexual health game for the non-profit’s teen website, Sexetc.org. Visit: http://bit.ly/g4cguidelines

• Joan Ganz Cooney Center (JGCC) at Sesame Workshop: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is an independent research and innovation lab that focuses on the challenges of educating children in a rapidly changing media landscape. The organization is lending its expertise and network to all “learning” themed programming for this year’s Games for Change Festival. In addition, the Cooney Center is hosting two panels featuring some of the most acclaimed leaders at the forefront of games, learning and innovation, including Michael Levine, Ph.D., (Executive Director of Joan Ganz Cooney Center), researcher and linguist James Paul Gee, Ph.D., (Arizona State University), game designer Katie Salen (Executive Director of Institute of Play), Former Activision Studio Chief, Alan Gershenfeld, Co-Founder of E-Line Media, and Diana Rhoten, Ph.D., (Chief Strategy Officer, Amplify at News Corporation). JGCC will also present a selection of award-winning, youth-created games from the upcoming National STEM Video Game Challenge.

• Zynga.org and Frima Studios: Together with partners Zynga.org, Frima Studio and funders of the large-scale project, Games for Change will host a special spotlight on Half the Sky Movement: The Game, an elaborate case study around the Facebook game, inspired by the #1 New York Times’ bestselling book Half the Sky and the acclaimed PBS television series. Since its launch on March 4th, the game has attracted more than 700,000 players and is adding an average of 10,000 players daily. Experts on game design, marketing and production will discuss the initial outcomes, best practices and lessons learned from one of the most ambitious and visible efforts in the space.

• Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC): Designed especially for the festival, a graduate student team from Carnegie Mellon’s ETC is crafting a collaborative mass participation game, tentatively titled “Boundaries”. The game will run daily during the festival to be played on attendees’ smartphones.

• Tribeca Film Institute (TFI): The festival will be the destination for the Tribeca Hacks Initiative, a nationwide series of intensive workshops that bring together content creators and technology specialists to increase understanding and broaden participation in the field of interactive storytelling. This special Tribeca Hacks presentation will cater to filmmakers and other creative content makers in a hands-on game design workshop led by game designer Nicholas Fortugno.10 Years of Games for Change: Series of Keynotes by Gaming Thought-Leaders
Gaming thought-leaders will reflect on the young 10-year-history of the field of games for social change throughout a series of daily mini-keynote presentations. Confirmed-to-date are award-winning game designers Brenda Romero, Jesse Schell and editor and journalist Leigh Alexander who will reflect on the past 10 years of making games for good, as well as a look into the future.Guest Curators: Babycastles, Hide&Seek, and the Global Game Jam

• Babycastles: Babycastles is a game and art collective in New York City that curates and installs indie games in an arcade setting around the world aimed at people of all ages and identities. In addition to curating a “Games for Change Hall of Fame” (showcasing their take on the best games for social impact of the last decade), they will invite participants to create their own game arcades on-site using stuffed animals, lo-fi tools and technology.

• Hide&Seek: Hide&Seek is a game design studio with locations in NYC and London working at the intersection of games and culture. Coming off a successful Kickstarter for Tiny Games, a smartphone app that puts hundreds of real-world games in your pocket, the NY studio is creating a special installation of Tiny Games for the festival. It will also give a talk on the design principles behind the studio’s commitment to real world play, and hold a workshop for participants to make their own Tiny Games for social impact in real time.

• Global Game Jam: The Global Game Jam (GGJ) is the world’s largest game jam, bringing together talented developers from around the globe to make games around a central theme. Akin to a hackathon for games, the yearly event draws thousands of participants in over 60 countries to make games under a 48-hour constraint. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Games for Change, the jam added a diversifier to challenge participants to make games with a positive social impact. On display at the festival will be some of the best games from that challenge created during the 2013 Global Game Jam.
The Annual Games for Change Awards
The festival will host the fourth edition of The Annual Games for Change Awards, which are designed to celebrate the year’s best “games for change.” Award nominees are submitted by game developers and a blue ribbon jury selects recipients in the following categories: Most Significant Impact; Most Innovative; Best Gameplay; Game of the Year. Nominees will be announced on May 13. The awards will be presented on the evening of June 18.
Additional Features

• Demo Spotlight: Demo Spotlight offers game developers an opportunity to present projects currently in progress to an open panel and the festival audience for feedback.

• The Marketplace: New to this year’s festival, The Marketplace presents an opportunity for festival attendees to meet companies, publishers, developers and service providers who are working at the forefront of games for change to facilitate business-to-business activity.

Additional Events and Speakers To Be Announced
For the most up-to-date schedule, visit: www.gamesforchange.org/festival2013

Costs for the three-day festival pass (plus processing fees): $550 for general tickets; $480 for non-profits; $390 for government employees; $325 for students; and $130 for youth (18 and under). Registration includes access to: talks, games, presentations, demos and workshops; the Game Arcade and “The Marketplace,” the 10th Anniversary Celebration on Tuesday, June 18th; Demo Spotlight, Games for Change Awards, and programming produced in collaboration with partners such as the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and the Tribeca Film Institute. The festival runs daily from 9:00am–6:30 pm.
Media Credentials
Media must be credentialed in order to attend. Please complete and submit the media credential request form by May 17th: http://form.jotformpro.com/form/30766574150960

About The Games for Change Festival
The Games for Change Festival is the largest gaming event in New York City and the leading international event uniting game creators with others interested in accessing and furthering the positive social impact of games. Major support for the festival is provided by the David & Lucile Packard Foundation and Zynga.org. Partners include: Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and the Tribeca Film Institute. For additional information and to register: www.gamesforchange.org/festival2013 #G4C13

About Games for Change
Founded in 2004, Games for Change facilitates the creation and distribution of social impact games that serve as critical tools in humanitarian and educational efforts. The organization aims to leverage entertainment and engagement for social good and most recently served as the Executive Producer for the incredibly successful Half the Sky Movement: The Game inspired by the global movement created by Pulitzer-Prize winning authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. To further grow the field, Games for Change convenes multiple stakeholders, highlights best practices, incubates games, and helps create and direct investment into new projects. www.gamesforchange.org